


After School Lesson

by Moiloru



Series: Growing With Hope [11]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: During Canon, F/M, Fear of Death, Friendship, Gen, Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), POV Kyoko Kirigiri, Regrets, Sad with a Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-17 11:21:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29592033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moiloru/pseuds/Moiloru
Summary: Kyoko’s heart broke when she heard the despair in Makoto’s voice. The poor boy had done nothing wrong and she had just sentenced him to death to further her selfish agenda. And as that conveyor belt led the poor Luckster closer and closer to his death, Kyoko felt like she didn’t deserve to be alive anymore.
Relationships: Kirigiri Kyoko & Naegi Makoto, Kirigiri Kyoko/Naegi Makoto
Series: Growing With Hope [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1799014
Comments: 6
Kudos: 40





	After School Lesson

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WiiFan2009](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WiiFan2009/gifts).



> Hello again, everyone! Here is a very short oneshot taking place during Chapter Five and Six of Trigger Happy Havoc. Many thanks to WiiFan2009 for suggesting this fic to me on my Tumblr! Feel free to send any ideas you have for fics taking place within my timeline to my Tumblr askbox, and make sure to check out WiiFan's awesome Danganronpa Gaidenverse! Well, I hope you enjoy this short oneshot!

_I… I'm a monster… I'm… about to kill an innocent… Someone who called me a friend… I'm about to stain my hands with Makoto's blood…_

_Are the answers I'm looking for… worth Makoto's life…?_

"I don't expect you to forgive me. I know this is all my fault…"

"Kyoko…?"

"Let's give it everything we've got! It's… PUNISHMENT TIIIME!"

The words echoed in the girl's head like a painful reminder of the choices she had made and the path she had taken. Her memories were blurry, but Kyoko could recall her talent now: Ultimate Detective. They explained many things, such as how she knew so many tricks (the pencil one from Sayaka's case came to mind), but also why she was the way she was.

It all made sense to her now. The cold personality, the difficulties she had to trust anybody, her eagerness to find the truth at all costs… Kyoko had sworn to locate the Headmaster and figure out the truth behind this school, but now, as Monokuma pushed this red button of death, she was left only with doubts.

All that because of her lie.

_H-He could have exposed me! I should be the one about to die right now! H-He… He wanted nothing less than for the murders to stop and for everyone to finally unite against Monokuma! He… H-He trusted me! A-And now… I've killed him. I'm nothing but a heartless monster…_

As the Ultimate Lucky Student was dragged to his execution, the lavender-haired detective had no choice but to shed her tears. _This_ , whether she wanted it or not, was despair. Makoto Naegi was the only person she considered a true friend, and she had handed the Mastermind the right to execute him. To say she was broken would be an understatement: she was destroyed, obliterated.

Makoto was sitting on that chair while the amnesiac detective could only watch crying and begging for her friend to stay alive, even if he couldn't hear her. The mere sight of that compactor threatened to make Kyoko lose her mind and the sound… God, the sound of that thing was the worst of all. It reminded her at all times that, in a matter of seconds, the Luckster would be nothing but a pool of blood and pieces of skin and that it would be her fault.

_I-I'm so sorry, Makoto! I… I should have found another way! You trusted me, and I betrayed you!_

She clung onto the iron bars and shook them, hoping to be able to stop this horrible execution before her friend was taken away from her. But as the seconds passed and the bear was still grinning at the boy, the Ultimate Detective felt nothing short of a need to _die_.

She didn't deserve to be alive. She was a detective, and a proud one, at that. Her role was to save the innocent and condemn the guilty. There, she had sent the most innocent boy she had ever met to death just to save herself and her investigation. Her pride, her worth… Kyoko felt she didn't deserve them anymore.

The sounds of her classmates' panic gasps and tears didn't reach her. The only thing she could hear was the sound of that damned compactor. The only thing she could see was the fear on Makoto's face.

Each time he turned around, he was met by death being closer and closer. Kyoko desperately shook, not caring she was displaying a fragile side of herself. Had it been anyone else, she would have been able to keep her emotions in check. Not with Makoto.

_I… I would change so many things if I could… I'd take back my lie if I could… I would have done more to defeat the Mastermind; instead of sacrificing you to buy myself time… I w-wonder… would you ever have it in you to forgive me…? Do I even deserve forgivene- huh?_

Suddenly, something happened. The threatening sound of the compactor stopped, prompting the violet-eyed girl to look up from the ground. Looking ahead, she witnessed the impossible.

_I-It… stopped…?_

The Ultimate Lucky Student didn't move from his chair and was still being swayed by the conveyor belt, but the horrible sound that was so painful to Kyoko had stopped. Soon enough, the monitor above, which had previously displayed Monokuma, turned into a very familiar face.

_T-That is…! A-ALTER EGO?!_

Memories of seeing the computer Chihiro had installed the software on being cruelly destroyed by Monokuma flashed through her mind. The confusion and shock on Kyoko's face were evident, even if the sign of hope allowed her to think more rationally.

_B-But… Alter Ego was destroyed! D-Did it… spread on the M-Mastermind's network?!_

Then, the Kirigiri detective recalled sending Makoto on that dangerous mission to plug the computer on the school's network. The Ultimate Lucky Student could very well have died taking such a risk, but he had done it because he trusted Kyoko with this plan. Even then, she thought, she had almost sent him to his doom.

Perhaps the most surprised of all was Makoto himself. Kyoko didn't even want to imagine the thoughts going on in his mind. The poor boy must have been feeling so many fears while she was there, ensured relative safety thanks to her selfish actions.

At one moment, Makoto eventually reached the end of the conveyor belt and fell down the chute with his desk and chair, leaving the execution room empty save for a very frustrated Monokuma.

 _H-He… He lived… His execution didn't work… Alter Ego saved him… His *Ultimate Luck* saved him…_ She brought a gloved hand to her eyes to wipe off the tears as she refocused on the facts. _I'm so glad… I don't know how it happened, but his execution failed… and now that the Mastermind has shown clear signs of bending the rules, we can take back the advantage! And I swear, Makoto…_

_I swear on my honor that I'll save you! I'll do whatever it takes to right the wrongs I did you and get you out of this mess! Just… hold on until I get there!_

"Huh? Huuuuh!? What's this? What's going on!?" Monokuma wondered, visibly bothered by what had just happened. His evil eye lit up in anger.

"Hey, was that…!?" Hina began but was interrupted before she could finish.

"Ah! Yeah, it had to be!" Hiro agreed, on the same wavelength as the swimmer.

"Alter Ego…!" Byakuya muttered, looking shocked as he rarely was.

"…Alter Ego!? is this some stupid virus from that stupid guy!?" the bear questioned, his claws making him look quite threatening. "He must have planted it when he invaded my network…! Damn it all to hell! I don't believe this!"

 _Maybe you don't… but it's not what matters. You've tried to cheat to take me out of the picture, but now…_ "It seems you finally made a miscalculation," Kyoko said with an earnest look. Before long, however, a grin appeared on her face. "No… you miscalculated from the very beginning."

"…What was that?"

In the face of their captor's threatening tone, the Ultimate Detective pointed her finger at Monokuma, her voice filling with a newfound determination.

"What I'm saying is, you shouldn't have underestimated us!" she told the evil bear, feeling emboldened by knowing they were one step closer to bringing the Mastermind to justice.

"Hmph! Why are you talking like you've already won!? I barely felt a thing! It was a pinch, an itch! The stupid virus is gone now, got it!? And so is Makoto… Maybe I didn't get to smash him flat, but you're never gonna see him again!" Monokuma swore, laughing mockingly. "To waste away in a garbage-strewn pit… In a way, that's an even BETTER special punishment!"

"…" _Don't give in to his taunts, Kyoko… All your focus needs to be on Makoto… The Mastermind will pay for what they did, but I need to save Makoto first…_

"Puhu… Puhuhu…! But it's still not enough… I'm still not satisfied! I'm still gonna bring despair to the rest of you - bring despair to the entire world…! Puhuhu… Puhuhu… Puhuhu… Puhuhu… Puhuhu… Puhuhu… Puhuhu… Puhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhu…!"

"…"

With a dramatic round of laughter, Monokuma disappeared from the trial room, leaving the five students alone to understand what had just happened. The cold expression returned to Kyoko's countenance as she thought of their captor. The girl hated herself for using Makoto's life to further her own agenda, but she hated the Mastermind even more for putting her in such a situation.

"Is he… gone?" the clairvoyant asked carefully, his face still blue with fear.

"Hey, Kyoko. What's the meaning of all this? Just what the hell is going on?" Byakuya interrogated, looking as angry as they had seen him after Hina's reveal during the previous Class Trial.

"It's okay." the lavender-haired girl told him, and by extension, told everyone. The seriousness of her expression did not show it, however. "We're not the ones being trapped this time." _Whoever they are, the Mastermind has just lost their advantage… Now we need to make the best of that opportunity._

"Huh…?"

Seeing Hina was confused as to the meaning of her words, Kyoko was forced to explain. "Now it's the mastermind that's ensnared…"

"What are you talking about…?" the Ultimate Affluent Progeny wondered, still looking very flustered.

"You'll understand soon enough." the girl replied, her look darkening as she walked away, leaving the rest of the group with only a few mysterious words. "Very soon indeed…"

* * *

Kyoko entered the trash room discreetly, trying not to arouse the Mastermind's suspicions. Technically, what she was about to do wasn't out of the rules, but she would have rather not have them know if she could.

She had also made sure the others didn't know what she was about to do, either. It wasn't a question of trust, as Kyoko was almost certain none of them was the Mastermind, but she didn't want them to intervene and potentially compromise her rescue mission. Besides, this was something she _needed to_ do alone.

She owed Makoto that much.

"Well, even if this was not allowed by the rules, it seems our Mastermind doesn't really care about them anymore…" she thought out loud with a sigh. "Whoever this second Ultimate Despair is, their cruelty and evilness reach limits beyond one's imagination. Hopefully, we'll be able to take advantage of the fact that they've cornered themselves when they tried to kill Makoto in his room…"

* * *

_I'm getting close; I can feel it… The truth is right there, and it's up to me to find it before there are any more victims…_ Kyoko thought as she sneakily walked through the halls, trying not to be seen by anyone. However, as she passed by the dorms, she felt her heart skip a beat.

_What was that…? What is this strange feeling I'm having…?_

"Gwaaaaaaaaaahh!"

Suddenly, a scream echoed through the halls as the amnesiac detective caught sight of a bit of white cloth a little farther in the hallway, and her eyes widened in realization.

Kyoko believed she could hear the footsteps of death when they were close to her. What she was feeling right now, however, weren't footsteps: it was stomping.

"Makoto!" _Someone's attacking him!_

Running as fast as she could, the violet-eyed girl threw the door open and noticed a masked individual dressed in a long white cloth standing in front of the lucky student's bed… with a knife!

"You!" the detective exclaimed as she threw a strong kick towards the mysterious attacker that landed right in their stomach. Caught by surprise, they tried to dodge Kyoko's next attacks but were forced to retreat out of the room, seeing how the momentum was on the lavender-haired girl's side.

Kyoko pondered running after them, knowing they must have been the Mastermind. Evidently, catching their captor would be an excellent thing, and while it carried a lot of risks, it could be worth it.

However, before she could even make a move, something got her attention.

*pant* *pant*

"M-Makoto…?"

Kyoko turned around and noticed her friend still under his sheets, visibly not in a lucid state. His forehead was sweaty, and the girl could almost feel the heat radiating from him - partly due to the fact he was still in his hoodie.

After that, there was no more hesitation for her. The detective went to close the door - something Makoto had, _once again_ , forgotten to do before coming back to his side.

"Nn? K-Kyoko…?" the Ultimate Lucky Student muttered sleepily, his voice weak and shaky.

"Shh, don't talk and go back to sleep, Makoto." _He's feverish… He needs to have a long rest, visibly._

"What the…? What did you…?"

"It's nothing you need to worry about right now, Makoto." she insisted, unsure of whether she was even getting through to him or not. "You need some sleep, so close your eyes and don't worry."

"What did you… say…?"

… _He is clearly not in a good state… The Killing Game has exhausted him mentally… Poor boy…_ "I told you not to worry, Makoto, and to go back to sleep. I'll stay here for a bit while you catch some sleep."

Once again, however, her voice didn't reach him. Still, the girl noticed his eyes closing, probably more because he didn't have the strength to keep them open than anything else.

 _I know chasing the Mastermind is essential, but… it didn't feel right to leave him alone in this state after he was attacked… I… I care about him, somehow. Leaving him alone would be cruel…_ Kyoko thought, a part of herself trying to justify her own actions. _But why did the Mastermind even attack him in the first place…? This was a foolish risk… Had I pursued them, I could have exposed them… They haven't done anything reckless up until now, so why now…? Do they have something planned? W-Wait…_

A chill ran down the amnesiac Ultimate as she took a seat next to her friend's bed, a realization coming to her.

The God of Death had whispered in her ear again, making the Ultimate Detective freeze in place.

_Something is going to happen… to Makoto… or to me…_

* * *

"Well, I guess this is it…" the girl mused, standing next to the trash, with a water bottle and some bread inside a plastic bag at the ready. "May this fall not be deadly… Well, here goes nothing."

Taking one deep breath to ease away her fears, the Ultimate Detective let herself fall in the trash chute. Her eyes widened as the free fall made her reach a dangerous speed very quickly.

_If I don't land on something soft, I'm dead. But that's a risk I'm willing to take. I don't have anything to lose if Makoto's dead, so this was the right call._

*GACRUNCH*

Suddenly, the detective felt her fall being cut short, sighing in relief when she realized she was still among the living. It had not been really comfortable, and she felt some slight pain, but this was nothing unbearable.

_If I made it, then Makoto must have too. Now, to find him…_

"What the-?!"

_H-Hey, that voice…!_

"Did something fall down over there…?"

_That's Makoto! Thank goodness…_

As a small smile of relief appearing on her lips, the Ultimate Detective began to free herself of the trash bags that had served as shock absorbers. Kyoko heard the Ultimate Lucky Student's footsteps get closer and closer to her position.

"Did a giant piece of trash just fall down here…?"

The lavender-haired girl felt Makoto's hands combing through the trash, helping her as she freed herself. Soon enough, she could make out the boy's figure in the corner of her eyes, and with a joking tone that hid as much relief as she had ever felt, she told him…

"A giant piece of trash? Rude."

_**The End.** _

**Author's Note:**

> It's true that I had always wondered what had been going on in Kyoko's mind during Makoto's execution and soon after. Since her memories were coming back to her, and Makoto was her only true friend, this must have been tough for her. As for the moment Junko attacked Makoto, I know many people headcanon that Kyoko watched over him for the night - and that's an HC I like a lot, too!
> 
> I hope you liked this short oneshot, even if it was basically just a rewriting of a couple of canon scenes. Please leave a comment, and I hope you have a nice day! :)


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